Be Super Resourceful

Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life

January 29, 1998

Some of the movies I like aren't too deep. Recently I was watching a video, in which a spy would have failed in his mission about two dozen times - had he not thought up 24 novel ways to get out of different tight corners!

Most of us don't deal with the kinds of experiences scripted in Hollywood action flicks. Yet we all encounter situations that need resolving. And often the answer needed is not obvious. Or, if there is an obvious answer, sometimes things still don't turn out as we hoped.

That's when we might want to emulate at least one quality portrayed by those Hollywood heroes: resourcefulness. It is a quality I see as combining independent thinking, intelligence, and spontaneous action, all grounded in the hope that there is always a solution.

There is always a solution. And the further good news is that resourcefulness is something we all have. Resourceful qualities are not just the preserve of fictitious characters. Nor do they belong more to one sex than to the other. Or to any particular class of people. They are spiritual qualities, inherent in all God's sons and daughters. According to Scripture, we are in reality all God's children. And we must each be truly resourceful by virtue of our real, spiritual nature.

The Bible relates many events illustrating the resourcefulness that those who understand their inherent spiritual identity have found. Events as simple as the recovering of an ax from the bottom of a river. It floated into reach as the prophet Elisha trusted in divine power (see II Kings 6:1-7). Events as dramatic as David's well-known defeat of the giant Goliath, without the weapons favored by the experienced warriors of his day (see I Sam., Chap. 17). Events as profoundly moving as the Apostle Peter's kneeling by the bed of Tabitha, a good woman who had died, and restoring her to life to continue her good works (see Acts 9:36-41).

The resources all these individuals could, and did, tap into were spiritual resources, coming as ideas from God. Best exemplified by Christ Jesus in innumerable healings, these spiritual ideas are not for sale to the highest bidder, aren't earned by the most diligent scholar, can't be inherited. They are freely accessible to all and are brought to light by sincere prayer, in which a person conforms to inspiration and guidance from God. This is acting on the impetus to be and do good.

You could call Jesus the Master for proving the ever-availability of these resources. He fed 5,000 people with just a tiny amount of food at hand, through the multiplication of that food (see Mark 6:34-44). He directed a disciple to obtain tax money from the mouth of a fish (see Matt. 17:24-27). He always had the right thoughts and the right words to heal those in need, and he was in the right place at the right time to do what God required of him.

Jesus' resourcefulness may sound even harder to emulate than the disaster-evading actions of a Hollywood hero. Yet his works illustrated the potential that belongs to each and every one of us. Looking to the example he set indicates the way to go in expanding our own resourcefulness, even if we won't immediately match his record of healing. We can maintain greater confidence in God as the true source of all ability - resourcefulness beyond oneself, yet inseparable from each of us.

Jesus totally trusted God for everything he needed. And so can we. In the textbook of Christian Science is found this: "The creative Principle - Life, Truth, and Love - is God" (Mary Baker Eddy, "Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures," Pg. 502). God, the creative Principle, always provides us with inspiration for an appropriate response to every need. If we maintain a childlike openness to God's ideas, we will reflect His wisdom in human situations.

I've often seen this proved in my own life. I have marveled at creative answers that have come to me as I pray. These have taken shape as original ideas for completing projects, unexpected means for meeting financial obligations (though never yet cash from a fish's mouth!), and unexpected ways to be of service to others. I've been more resourceful to the degree I leaned on God as the source of my ability.

You don't need to be a superhero. But you can be super resourceful by learning to turn to God for the wisdom and ability to handle whatever comes up in your life.